RESEARCH ARTICLE Response of the Rumen Microbiota of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) Fed Different Concentrations of Tannin Rich Plants

High throughput sequencing was used to examine the rumen microbiota of sika deer fed high (OLH) and low concentration (OLL) of tannin rich oak leaves. The results showed that Prevotella spp. were the most dominant bacteria. The most predominant methanogens were the members of the order Methanoplasmatales. The dominant rumen protozoa were Entodinium longinucleatum, Eudiplodiniummaggii, and Epidinium caudatum, and the fun-gal communities were mostly represented by Piromyces spp. Moreover, the relative abun-dance of Pseudobutyrivibrio spp. (P=0.026), unidentified bacteria (P=0.028), and Prevotella spp. (P=0.022) was lower in the OLH group than in the OLL group. The concentration of propionate in the OLH group was greater than in the OLL group (P=0.006). Patterns of rela-tionships showed that methanogens belonging to the order Methanoplasmatales were negatively correlated with Treponema spp., Ent. Longinucleatum, and acetate.Methano-sphaera stadtmanae was positively correlated to propionate, whileMethanobrevibacter ruminantium was negatively associated withMethanobrevibacter thaueri andMethanobre-vibacter millerae. Tannins altered the rumen microbes and fermentation patterns. However, the response of the entire rumen microbiota and the relationship between rumen microor-ganisms and the fermentation parameters were not fully understood